Settlement Services in the Training and Education of Immigrants: Toward a Participatory Mode of Governance

Abstract

Settler countries such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have had a history of providing formal and informal services to immigrants and refugees, often during their initial period of settlement. This chapter provides a historical review of the policies, practices, and research related to settlement or immigrant services in Canada, with particular attention paid to the roles that they have played in immigrant training and education vis-à-vis labor market segmentation and deprofessionalization. It also identifies the ideological shifts underlying settlement services and highlights what I call a participatory mode of governance as an alternative way to reimagine training and services for immigrants.

Examining self‐perceived employability among immigrant women participating in vocational training in Taiwan

“…However, the CIVT programs for immigrant women are usually delivered in native‐centered ways that aim to assimilate female immigrant trainees into their host societies rather than in culturally responsive ways in which female immigrant trainees’ social and cultural contexts are integrated into the training (Cheng & Gao, ; Wu, ). Therefore, vocational training programs are usually positioned as tools to facilitate immigrant women’s career development by expanding these women’s cultural, social and human capital and then enhancing their labor market participation opportunities; however, vocational training may also impose the cultural imperialism of the host countries on immigrant women (Shan, ).…”

“…In addition, existing studies have considered career development only for immigrant women in North America, Australia and Europe and have paid little attention to the issue of Asian women moving to other Asian nations through international marriages (e.g. Shan, ). Thus, a comprehensive and contextualized analysis of the career development and in particular the vocational training experiences and employability of immigrant women who have immigrated to Taiwan through cross‐border marriage is necessary.…”

Thinking third sector in Canadian and German settlement and social inclusion

“…Many have noted that small, ethno-specific organizations are particularly important actors in Canadian settlement due to their cultural and linguistic compatibility with particular newcomer communities. (Sadiq 2004;Biles et al 2011;Shan 2015). Shields et al find that clients reliant on ethnospecific organizations are more likely to be "particularly vulnerable immigrant populations who can be hard to reach and service through more standard service bodies" (2014,23).…”

Gender – Diversity – Intersectionality. (New) Perspectives in Adult Education

“…Soft skills refer to the "abilities, and traits that pertain to personality, attitude, and behaviour" (Moss & Tilly, 1996, p. 253), including the 'right' look and the 'right' sound (Nickson, Warhurst, & Dutton, 2005). Particularly important in the service economy, in which women are often overrepresented, the attention on soft skills favours the commodification of personal characteristics such as emotions, attitudes and even the way women dress and use make-up (Shan, 2015). Hierarchical social orders are thus perpetuated along axes of social differences, such as gender and race, by skills that are constructed by a dominant segment of the population.…”